Bingo card holder

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for supporting game cards such as bingo cards on the lap of a player or on a table surface in front of the player. A plurality of boards are interlinked to accommodate a number of such game cards used by the player. Removable legs attachable to the boards allow the board to be supported on the lap of a player at an inclined angle, or on a table surface in front of the player. Interlinking or disengagement of the board are achieved without the application of tools.

United States Patent 1191 Benesch May 21, 1974 BINGO CARD HOLDER [76] Inventor: Frederick E. Benesch, 957 'm F T i g q Broadway Ave. Holbrook, NY Assistant xammer au S ap1ro 1 1741 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Joseph F. Padlon 22 F! d: I 26 1973 21 A l N 132 858 [57] ABSTRACT 1 An arrangement for supporting game cards such as bingo cards on the lap of a player or on a table surface Uoso G, in front of the player A plurality of boards are inter- [5 Cl. linked to accommodate a number of uch game cards [58] Field of Search 273/136, 135 B, 148 R; d by the player. Removable legs attachable to the 35/35 R boards allow the board to be supported on the lap of a player at an inclined angle, or on a table surface in References Cited front of the player. lnterlinking or disengagement 'of UNITED STATES PATENTS the board are achieved without the application of 2,168,551 8/1939 Alexander 35/35 R x tools- 2,497,341 2/l950 Bisson 273/l35 B 3,603,592 9/1971 1 Bury 273/135 B 10 Clam, 7 Drawmg Flgul'es BINGO CARD HOLDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When engaging in games such as bingo, for example, the player is often confronted with the problem of having to balance a number of bingo cards on his lap or on an irregular surface in front of him as, for example, a

handrail support. As a result of this conditionfthe player is often required to straighten the cards, pick them up and put them back in place after they have been dropped to the ground inadvertently, and otherwise attempt to keep in mind the various cards which he may have scattered about in front of him. As a result of having to continuously straighten and arrange the cards properly, the player may find the game tedious and wearisome.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for supporting a plurality of game cards, such as bingo cards, on the lap of a player or on a table surface in front of him.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement in which the surface supporting the playing cards may be extended as required to accommodate the number of cards used by the player.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of the foregoing character in which a plurality of bores may be interlinked for supporting a number of playing cards, without requiring the use of tools or the application of special skills by the player.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement, as described, which is provided with means to allow the player to apply erasable markings with respect to the game cards in front of him.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a game card holding arrangement in which a plurality of boards are interlinked with hinges and pegnotch means. The hinges interconnect the boards along the North-South edges, whereas the peg and notch means interlink the boards along the East-West edges. Supporting legs may be attached to the bottom surface of the boards for use of these boards and they may be removed for simplifying the storage and transportation of the boards. A transparent plastic overlay sheet, furthermore, is attached to one edge of the boards, and the game cards may be placed between the boards and the transparent sheet. The player may freely mark the plastic sheet while the game is in progress as for example during a bingo game and the marking may be subsequently readily removed when applied with a grease pencil.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of a plurality of supporting boards interlinked for the purpose of holding and supporting a series of bingo game cards;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the assembled board arrangement of FIG. 1 with supporting legs attached to the boards;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the arrangement of FIG. 2, and shows the supporting legs of the boards designed to allow for inclination of the boards;

FIG. 4a is a side view of a peg arrangement used for interlinking the boards, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4b is a partial view of a board provided with a notch into which the peg of FIG. 4a is inserted for interlinking of the boards;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along line 55 in FIG. 4b; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a board provided with a transparent overlay sheet on which removable markings may be applied, in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawing and in particular to FIG. 1, two boards 10 and 12 are hinged together along the edge 11. The hinge makes it possible to stack the two boards on top of each other to reduce the space for storage and transportation. Each board 10 and 12 may be of the size for accommodating, for example, three bingo cards.

As shown further in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bottom surfaces of the boards 10 and 12 may have attached to them legs 14. The legs 14 may be made of varying length so as to permit inclination of the boards, as shown in FIG. 3. At the same time these legs 14 may also be made of equal length so as to form a level or horizontal table surface for holding the bingo cards.

To expand the capacity of the card holder, in accordance with the present invention, for the purpose of accommodating a larger number of cards for the player, boards 16 and 18 may be linked, respectively, to boards 10 and 12. The boards 16 and 18 are also hinged together along the edge 17. For the purpose of linking the board 16 to the board 10 and the board 18 to the board 12, a peg and notch arrangement shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b is provided. The top board 18, for example, is provided with a peg 20 projecting from the edge of the board which is to be linked to the board 12. The peg 20 consists of a cylindrical-shaped member terminating in a disc-shaped element. In conjunction with the peg 20, the lower board 12 is provided with a notch 22 shaped to accommodate the peg 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the notch 22 is shaped with a cutout 24 which mates with the cylindrical-shaped portion of the peg 20. The cutout 24 communicates with a cutout 26 which, in turn, mates with the disc-shaped portion of the peg 20.

In the use of the boards, the members 10 and 12 are first unfolded along the hinged side or edge 11. The same procedure is applied to the boards 16 and 18. The boards 10 and 12 are then linked to the boards 16 and 18 by resting the boards 10 and 12 with their notches on the respective pegs projecting from the boards 16 and 18. To disengage subsequently the boards 10 and 12from the boards 16 and 18, the boards 10 and 12 are merely lifted from the boards 16 and .18, whereby the notches disengage from the pegs projecting from the boards 16 and 18. The legs 14 may be attached or not to the boards, as desired. For the purpose of attaching the legs 14 to the boards, the undersurface of the boards may be provided with bores or holes for allowing the legs 14 to be inserted thereinto. This method of attaching the legs 14 to the boards, allows the legs to be attached without the use or application of any special tools.

To allow the bingo player, for example, to apply markings while the game is in progress, the boards may be provided with a clear plastic overlay sheet as shown in FIG. 6. This transparent overlay sheet 28 may be simply placed over the board to cover the bingo cards that have been placed on the boards and to allow thereafter marking on the overlay sheet, as desired. In placing such an overlay sheet 28 on top of the boards, it is desirable that the edges of the overlay sheet 28 overlap the edges of the board 10, for example, to assure a secure seating or placement of the overlay sheet. Thus, the sheet 28 is provided with an overlapping border 28a which engages the edges of the board 10, for example. At the same time, it is possible to also secure or fix one edge, for example, of the transparent sheet 28 to one edge of the board 10. The transparent overlay sheet 28 can then be lifted from the board while being attached to one edge of the board, and the bingo cards may be placed then on top of the boards so that they may be held between the top surface of the board and the overlay sheet after the latter is dropped back onto the board. In such an embodiment, one edge of the transparent overlay sheet as edge 28a, for example, is fixed to the respective edge of the board 10.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended:

l. A game card holding arrangement comprising a plurality of interconnected plate-shaped members; linking means for interconnecting said plate-shaped members at their edges; removable legs for attaching to the undersides of said plate-shaped members; and transparent covering means for covering the upper side of said plate-shaped members so that game cards may be placed between said covering means and the upper sides of said plate-shaped members.

2. The arrangement as defined in claim 1, including hinge means for interconnecting at least a number of said plate-shaped members.

3. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said linking means comprises hinge means for interconnecting each of said plate-shaped members at one edge; and peg means cooperating with notch means for interconnecting each of said plate-shaped members at another edge.

4. The arrangement as defined in claim 3 wherein said peg means comprises a disc-shaped element attached to a cylindrical-shaped element, said cylindrical-shaped element being fixed to one edge of said plate-shaped member and projecting from said edge of said plate-shaped member.

5. The arrangement as defined in claim 4 wherein said notch means comprises a cylindrical-shaped bore for mating with the cylindrical-shaped element of said peg means, said cylindrical bore communicating with a disc-shaped recess for mating with said disc-shaped element of said peg means.

6. The arrangement as defined in claim 5 wherein said hinge means connects the edges of said plateshaped members along the North-South direction, said peg means and notch means connecting said plateshaped members along the East-West direction, said plate-shaped members with said notch means being supported on said peg means attached to adjacent plate-shaped members.

7. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 including means for marking on said transparent covering means, the markings on said transparent covering means being removable.

8. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said transparent covering means has overlapping edges for overlapping along the edges of said plate-shaped members.

9. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said transparent covering means is attached to one edge of said plate-shaped members.

10. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said removable legs are of different lengths for applying an inclination to said plate-shaped members when interconnected. 

1. A game card holding arrangement comprising a plurality of interconnected plate-shaped members; linking means for interconnecting said plate-shaped members at their edges; removable legs for attaching to the undersides of said plateshaped members; and transparent covering means for covering the upper side of said plate-shaped members so that game cards may be placed between said covering means and the upper sides of said plate-shaped members.
 2. The arrangement as defined in claim 1, including hinge means for interconnecting at least a number of said plate-shaped members.
 3. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said linking means comprises hinge means for interconnecting each of said plate-shaped members at one edge; and peg means cooperating with notch means for interconnecting each of said plate-shaped members at another edge.
 4. The arrangement as defined in claim 3 wherein said peg means comprises a disc-shaped element attached to a cylindrical-shaped element, said cylindrical-shaped element being fixed to one edge of said plate-shaped member and projecting from said edge of said plate-shaped member.
 5. The arrangement as defined in claim 4 wherein said notch means comprises a cylindrical-shaped bore for mating with the cylindrical-shaped element of said peg means, said cylindrical bore communicating with a disc-shaped recess for mating with said disc-shaped element of said peg means.
 6. The arrangement as defined in claim 5 wherein said hinge means connects the edges of said plate-shaped members along the North-South direction, said peg means and notch means connecting said plate-shaped members along the East-West direction, said plate-shaped members with said notch means being supported on said peg means attached to adjacent plate-shaped members.
 7. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 including means for marking on said transparent covering means, the markings on said transparent covering means being removable.
 8. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said transparent covering means has overlapping edges for overlapping along the edges of said plate-shaped members.
 9. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said transparent covering means is attached to one edge of said plate-shaped members.
 10. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said removable legs are of different lengths for applying an inclination to said plate-shaped members when interconnected. 